State Standards

12.1 Students understand common economic terms and concepts and economic reasoning.

Project Summary

The Business Plan project set an order for students to assemble a business plan that would persuade investors to put forward capital for our business. As with the Budget in Ten Years project, we had to assemble a comprehensive selection of information. Our plans included what our business was, how it would operate, and information about expenses. Each plan needed to include information of where and how capital would be obtained, along with how much would be required to start the business. For my business, Dragon Corps Longbows, I found I could minimize the capital startup costs and expenses I would incur by already owning the tools I required. For the purposes of this project, I decided I would operate my business like a traditional tradesmanís shop. When I felt like it, I would take on an apprentice or journeyman to help with the work and train to eventually take over the business.

What I Learned

This project strongly tied into our unit on business types and helped me to better understand the complexities of business ownership. There were hundreds of factors involved and expenses all over the place. While owning oneís own business is certainly a great experience, it is also labor- and paperwork intensive. However, this project gave me confidence that I could successfully operate my own business in the manner I desire. Unfortunately, the yearly profits I predicted were not sufficient to match the six-figure salary I could earn as an aerospace engineer.